Miyazaki Designs Park for Totoro House Grounds

My Neighbor Totoro creator Hayao Miyazaki has designed a public park that will be constructed on the ground where the house known as “Totoro’s Home” once stood. The 60+ year old Kondo family home in Asagaya, Tokyo was profiled in Miyazaki’s 1991 book Totoro no Sumu Ie (The Homes that Totoro Lives in). In the book, Miyazaki described the house as the type of “home that Totoro would have enjoyed living in dearly.” The book made the home a beloved local landmark and the local Suginami area government formally purchased the house after its 85 year old owner moved, planning to turn the house into a tourist attraction. However, the house mysteriously burned down in February 2009 in a suspected case of arson.

The Suginami district government still plans to develop the location into a public park, now with Hayao Miyazaki’s creative involvement. Miyazaki has previous architectural & landscape design experience. He designed the buildings and grounds of the Mitaka, Tokyo Ghibli Museum.

Source: Anime News Network